Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs Mario Cazares Preview September 25th
Former WBC Middleweight boss Julio Cesar Chavez returns to the ring in Tijuana this Friday, Sept. 25th where he takes on fellow Mexican Mario Abel Cazares in a 10-round light heavyweight bout. The fight will be shown live in North America on DAZN. Chavez last fought in December when he was stopped after the fifth round by Daniel Jacobs. Cazares last saw action in December as well when he stopped Eduardo Tercero in just 33 seconds.
**Watch live on DAZN this Friday. Your first month is free.
Chavez vs Cazares Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Mario Cazares +300
- Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. -500
My Pick
The 34-year-old Cesar Chavez Jr. returned to the ring in August of last year after a 26-month layoff and blasted Evert Bravo out in less than 90 seconds in a light heavyweight tilt. His previous bout was a unanimous decision defeat to Canelo Alvarez in a fight he was dominated in. However, the then quit in the corner against Jacobs in December. Chavez is known to gain weight and focus more on his out-of-ring activities and lifestyle than he does on training and the 175 lbs limit probably makes the most sense for him.
Chavez was banned nine months and fined $900,000 in 2013 for testing positive for an illegal substance but still has a fine record of 51-4-1 with 33 Kos. His other losses were a unanimous decision to former WBC Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez in September, 2012 and a ninth-round stoppage at the hands of Andrzej Fonfara in April, 2015. However, Chavez had Martinez down and in deep trouble in the last round in their title fight before the bell arguably saved Martinez. Against Fonfara though, Chavez suffered a bit of a beating.
Size-wise, Chavez stands 6-feet tall with a 73-inch reach. He possesses decent power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 57.9 per cent. He’s a powerful boxer with a pretty solid chin and is hard to keep at bay when he decides to let his hands go. Most of his knockouts come on an accumulation of blows rather than just once punch and he’s relentless when at his best. Chavez likes to apply pressure to the body and head and keep moving forward until he eventually breaks his opponent down.
He’s boxed 310 rounds since his pro debut in 2003 so has plenty of experience with his biggest wins so far being over Brian Vera (twice), Andy Lee, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo Jr. and John Duddy. He also fought to a six-round draw with Carlos Molina in 2005. He’s fighting on this weekend’s card with his father, who’s boxing Jorge Arce in an exhibition, so Chavez definitely won’t want to be embarrassed by Cazares.
As for Cazares, he’s 30-years-old and enters the contest with a perfect mark of 11-0 with 5 Kos and is basically a super middleweight who’s moving up several pounds. He made his pro debut just five years ago and has boxed only 46 rounds since. His power is average with a current knockout ratio of 45.5 per cent. There’s no height and reach information on Cazares so we don’t know exactly how he stacks up size-wise with Chavez.
Cazares has never fought outside of Mexico and just one of his 11 opponents had a winning record, which was Tercereo, who he blew away in the first minute the last time out in December. He’s obviously been brought in as a beatable opponents for Chavez, but perhaps we should expect the unexpected in a Chavez fight.
Prediction…
Chavez has lost some speed and his dedication to the sport has been questioned. He looked fine in his comeback but Bravo was a hand-picked opponent and a confidence-builder. But then he quit after five rounds against Jacobs. When he’s in the right frame of mind and in decent shape, Chavez can be a handful for anyone and he should be able to handle Cazares at 175 lbs.
Chavez’s size and ability to take a punch should be the difference.
Play: Chavez -500 @ BetOnline.ag
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Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. betting • Mario Cazares betting